Has a person in your family just had their braces tightened? This is a tough time for the member of your family, because brace tightening or wire changing can cause severe pain and aching to the teeth. The person may find it difficult to eat normal food during this time. This article shows you what type of food to buy for the member of your family with braces.

Steps

1

Remember that the pain caused by having braces tightened should only last around one week or less. It is possible, but unlikely, that the pain will last over one week. Keep this in mind when you are shopping if you don't want to buy brace-friendly food in bulk. The member of your family who has braces should be able to eat normal food one week after they have had their braces

Keep in mind that after eating hard foods, the brace-wearing member of your family can suffer severe aching in the teeth after eating non brace-friendly foods in the week after they have had their braces tightened, or find it impossible altogether. Completely avoid serving the member of your family with braces hard foods during this time. If the brace-wearing person is suffering severe pain, depending on their age, give them a pain relief medicine such as Calpol or painkillers to relieve the pain.

2

Avoid buying chewy or hard foods. The brace wearing person will find it impossible to eat chewy or hard foods during this time. Particular foods to avoid are the list below. The foods highlighted in bold are foods that are recommended that you eat none or very little of the whole period in which braces are worn. This may seem like a long list but remember, the person who has braces should be able to eat almost all of these after one week.

Toffees

Nuts

Apples

Hard breads (baguettes, hard buns, etc.)

Chewy or hard sweets (excluding chocolate)

Mints

Biscuits

Carrots and other hard vegetables

Hard or chewy pastries (croissants etc.)

Samosas, pappadums

Chicken (if it is on the bone) and other chewy meats, such as steak and pork.

3

Avoid buying food that will get between braces. This is a problem for many brace wearers, because not only is it unsightly, food stuck between braces can cause pain. The foods to avoid are:

Nuts

Apples

Couscous (and foods like it, excluding rice)

Bread

Carrots and other hard vegetables

Chewy sweets

4

Buy melt-in-the-mouth foods. Brace wearers will find it easier to consume melt-in-the-mouth foods because it minimizes chewing. These can be foods such as:

Chocolate

Various puddings (such as melt in the middle pudding, or easy to break apart puddings like sponge.)

Any other melt in the mouth foods.

5

Buy very soft foods. Make sure that there are no hard bits in the food that you buy, even if it is soft, to minimize the possibility of chewing and getting hard bits stuck in the braces. This can be:

Cheese

Soft chips

Beans and peas (and foods like it, including sweetcorn)

Rice

Pasta

Mince

Softened potatoes

Sausages

Brussels sprouts and other soft vegetables

6

Buy mashed food. You don't need to buy baby food for this step, so don't worry. Just buy mashed or liquidized foods that are easy to eat. Ideas to try are:

Mashed potato

Mushy peas

Rice pudding

Ice cream

Soup

Jelly

7

Take the braces wearing person with you when you go shopping. Ask them for foods you're unsure about: "Can you eat this?" The brace wearing person should know what he or she can or cannot eat. Make sure that the person is reliable, though. You have to question their judgement when the person says that they 'can't eat' brussels sprouts or any other vegetable and 'can eat' chewy sweets and other unhealthy foods.